( June 20, 2014, Singapore City , Sri Lanka Guardian) Much has been written about what had happened in Aluthgama a few days ago. In short, a personal altercation involving a driver of monk and two Muslim youth did not cause for the Aluthgama riot. However, such a personal altercation politically and racially exploited by BBS and its thugs metamorphosed into a communal riot between Sinhalese and Muslims, following a rally and protest march going through the Muslim majority area. Much of the discourses on Aluthgama riot pinpoint the fact that irreparable damage caused not only to the innocent lives of Muslims, but to their properties worth millions and billions, places of worship-mosques, and houses could have been thwarted had law enforcement authorities acted swiftly or stymied the protest march held by the BBS marching through the Muslim majority area, chanting slogans against Muslims and inviting troubles. In fact, the speech made by Ven Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thero at the rally was full of venom arousing the sentiments of Sinhala Buddhists against the Muslims. It is also reported that the curfew that was enforced to contain the violence had only confined the Muslims indoors while BBS thugs were seen looting and torching the houses and business establishments of Muslims in Aluthgama and Beruwala area. This suggests that the government and law enforcement authorities are complicit in what turned out to be a crisply outrageous pogrom against Muslims in Aluthgama. This point was further proven yesterday as even the most powerful in the country, His Excellency The President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa was not able to utter a word against or for that matter even condemn the actions of the ‘Bodu Bala Sena’ or the vitriolic speech made by its General Secretary Ven Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thero at the meeting organised at the Beruwela Divisional Secretary office with the participation of both Buddhist and Muslim religious leaders.

It is also pertinent to note that the President and the Defence Secretary were both outside the country when these incidents took place including Ministers who had previously been outspoken against BBS especially Rajitha Senaratne, elected from Kalutara District who had been reported to have accompanied the President on his Bolivian tour. The Defence Secretary was a notable absentee at yesterday’s event where the President assured an impartial inquiry while pledging to “rebuild homes and businesses destroyed in Aluthgama, Beruwela and Dharga Town”. President has also said that compensation for the victims will be by way of security forces rebuilding damaged property. Given that the President has given several false promises to both minority communities in the past, it will be interesting to see whether he would keep up to his word in ensuring justice.

Meanwhile, in the aftermath of all this, the Bodu Bala Sena, in its usual form is now making serious efforts to wash its hands in the whole episode with their main man Gnanasara Thero declining to speak to the media putting up an excuse that he is undergoing treatment for vocal difficulty! Its spokesperson Dilantha Withanage has also told Al Jazeera Television that the BBS did not organise the particular rally in Aluthgama but it was their leaders who were invited to speak on the forum. As such, this seems to be a clearly orchestrated pogrom against Muslims waiting to unfold in the aftermath of the war.

Muslim politicians and their dilemma

It is pathetic that the so-called Muslim politicians, mainly in the ruling party, are politically fragmented even at a time where the security and existence of the Muslim society in Sri Lanka is seriously questioned and challenged, given the vitriolic anti-Muslim campaign undertaken by BBS and Sihala Ravaya with a tacit approval of the government. SLMC leader, the Minister of Justice, Rauf Hakeem expressed serious concern over the incident in Aluthgama and told Al-Jazeera that he was ashamed to be a Minister of Justice in a government that was impotent in ensuring the law and order in the country as well as safety and security of an ethnic group-Muslims. He is reported to have met some of the Ambassadors of Muslim countries in Colombo recently to brief them on the Alutgama riot. Minister Rishad Bathiudeen has also registered his serious concern over the incident, despite being away on a foreign trip. It is also intriguing that requests have been made from various sections of the people, mainly the Muslims, upon the Muslims politicians in the ruling party, to leave the government forthwith that is instrumental in aiding and abetting a pogrom in Aluthgama and Beruwela. Particularly, a pressure is being mounted upon SLMC leader, the Minister of Justice, Rauff Hakeem as he holds much clout in the Muslim electorates. It is reasonable that the Muslims with utter frustration asking Minister Hakeem to resign his ministerial portfolio from the government, which is deemed by many, is complicit in the pogrom against Muslims. Even certain politicians in the present government including Sinhalese and Muslims are not comfortable with Rauff Hakeem occupying the ministerial portfolio and embarrassing the government in the cabinet and other forums. The government also found it, at times, odds with Minister Hakeem as he acted in the interests of his community. For instance, the government became incensed when Hakeem and his party submitted a document to United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanetham Pillay detailing the attacks on mosques and business establishments of Muslims by the Sinhala Buddhist hardliners. Thus, certain politicians in the government would be at ease if Hakeem whose support was crucial to the passage of the 18th amendment to the constitution were to leave the government, given the status quo on Muslims.

Let us analyse what would happen if he were to leave the government at this crucial juncture.

1) Unlike the TNA that enjoys the support of India and powerful Tamil diaspora around the world, it is a fact that Muslims in Sri Lanka do not have too much of authority outside Sri Lanka
2) Despite the SLMC Leader explaining the situation to Ambassadors of few Muslim countries in Sri Lanka, it is still too early to project whether they would make sufficient calls to pressurise the government given the dent it might cause in terms of maintaining foreign relations
3) Again, despite The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation representing 57 Muslim countries issuing a statement condemning the attacks in Aluthgama, it is doubtful that the matter will even be raised at the on-going Foreign Ministers conference
4) Thus, leaving the government and sitting with the opposition will not necessarily mean that Hakeem and his team of members may be able to influence either the government or the international community on the plight of the Muslims
5) Hakeem is also not sure if all members of SLMC would leave the government if he were to decide to do so, because of some their members are still day dreaming for deputy ministerial portfolios
6) Hakeem is also in fear that if he decides to leave the government and support the TNA at the Eastern Provincial Council, the Muslims of Sri Lanka will be projected as traitors similar to what TNA is now being portrayed
7) This projection could further increase the division between the Buddhists and the Muslims and strengthen the hands of the forces that are against Muslims such as the BBS at a time where it is more important to promote coexistence
8) Meanwhile, Muslims in Aluthgama and Beruwela suffered physically, mentally and financially in an unprecedented way due to the riot. Thus, they need to be compensated, let alone the precious lives lost there that can not be compensated what so ever, by the government and it is the responsibility of the SLMC as a partner of coalition of the government to ensure that the victims are compensated fairly.
9) Who would guarantee that the present dilemma that Muslims are subjected to and the pogrom that has begun against Muslims in Alutgama would cease if Hakeem were to leave the government?

What can Muslim politicians do?

Although Muslim politicians are part of the coalition government, they have unanimously articulated that BBS are the cause of Alutgama riots against Muslims. Ministers Hakeem, Rishard and even Athaullah have plainly subscribed to the view that BBS are cause of the Aluthgama riot. However, they are not prepared to be united in confronting and countering the BBS and its patrons. It is indeed significant to note that their petty political ideologies, regardless of their religious affiliation, that drive them apart from being united even at a time of difficulty that the Muslim society is subject to at the hands of Sinhala Buddhist hardliners. However, the TNA constituted with many different political parties with various political ideologies come together under a common platform during elections and other occasions to raise the legitimate concerns of the Tamil community in various political spaces, in and out of the country. This phenomenon is conspicuously missing on the part of Muslim politicians in the country. It should be noted that the unity among Muslim politicians, regardless of whether they are in the ruling, opposition or any other smaller parties, will definitely make the difference in countering the BBS and its ideology tacitly backed by the rulers in the country.

Rishad-Rauff unity

In my view, the wise decision that Ministers Hakeem and Rishard who are vehemently opposed to the BBS can do, as of now, is that they should stay with the government and at the same time create a new unity front (coalition) among Muslim MPs representing the ruling and opposition political parties who are against BBS and counter them with a full force. In this way, those politicians from the Muslim community who do not cooperate with this new unity front will be exposed among the masses.

Moreover, there are politicians from the majority and minority communities opposing the ideology of BBS and its patrons. These are the politicians who are at the receiving end of virulent rhetoric of BBS in its rallies. This unity front may be able to garner the support of those majority and minority politicians from the ruling, opposition and other political parties who are against the ideology of BBS and thereby counter the ideology of BBS and its patrons in and outside of the country.

Despite the fact that the rhetoric of BBS against Muslims targeting their dietary practices, attire, population, economy, cattle slaughter, and so on has not grabbed the attention of mainstream Sinhala Buddhist community as yet, however, their sustained propaganda campaign against Muslims, if not checked, has all the potential of reaching to the vast majority of Sinhalese Buddhist community in times to come and turning Sri Lanka into another killing field. Thus, it is also imperative on the part of Muslim civil society organizations, intellectuals, religious leaders and others to engage with the mainstream Sinhala Buddhist community and its civil society organizations to dispel fears, apprehensions and misconceptions of Muslims in Sri Lanka that the BBS and their ilk are beginning to cultivate in the minds of mainstream Sinhala Buddhist community.

Finally I would like to add a message sent by a Muslim to the President yesterday on Twitter.

“You can rebuild HOUSES, not HOMES. You can rebuild SHOPS, not BUSINESSES. You can rebuild LAW & ORDER, not TRUST!”

The author is a PhD scholar at the National University of Singapore. He can be reached at aramees2001@gmail.com

The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) excoriated Minister of Industry and Commerce, Rishad Bathiudeen, for building separate Muslim zones and villages for the internally displaced by desecrating the sanctity of the Wilpattu National Park.
They allege that he has entered into contracts with Middle Eastern non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The contracts of which though not available on any government website are found on the following websites belonging to Middle Eastern NGOs:

The BBS also queried as to who granted permission for this, and as to why MPs, the Minister of Environment and Renewable Energy Susil Premajayantha and Minister of Construction, Engineering Services, Housing and Common Amenities Wimal Weerawansa were silent on the matter.Post-war, the internally displaced should be given housing regardless of their race, ethnicity or religion. This should be done with a proper plan and by following the correct procedure. First of all, the government should find out where they lived previously and relocate them to their original locations. At a time when green forests are being destroyed, allowing the Wilpattu National Park to be cleared to build houses is an environmental catastrophe. It is because there is no proper housing plan to accommodate, relocate and reinstate the internally displaced has situations like this arisen. When there is so much land for this purpose elsewhere, doing this in Wilpattu and giving permission for it is politically motivated.

Since the dawn of peace, every government bent over to the almighty foreign dollar; we saw this evenduring the post-tsunami period. What should have happened was for everyone to have had a discussion and once trust, cooperation and enhanced social cohesion was developed, only then to relocate. This building of new Muslim villages is the origin of a future problem. When a government minister signs a contract on behalf of the government, how does the money end up with a NGO? Muslim extremists have had talks locally and internationally to engage in an international conspiracy to acquire our coastal belt and this attempt in Puttalam-Mannar is a threat to both national and regional safety and security. This is a problem with government policy,” BBS General Secretary Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera, BBS Executive Committee Member and Programmes Coordinator Dilantha Withanage and BBS Education and Research Unit Chief Coordinator Chamila Liyanage said in unison. Despite several attempts by Ceylon Today to contact Minister Premajayantha, Minister Weerawansa and Minister Bathiudeen, they were not available for comment.

Tiger terrorists destroyed 20,000 houses, 79 mosques and over 60 schools of Muslims in the Northern Province and a similar number of houses, temples and schools of the Sinhalese community. It is a pity that no one is highlighting these human rights violations by the terrorists, leaving unfounded allegations against the Sri Lankan government to go unchallenged, Commerce and Industry Minister Rishad Bathiudeen said.

Addressing a media conference in Colombo on Tuesday, the minister said Muslim and Sinhala communities who lived in the North for centuries were forcibly expelled from the Northern Province by Tiger terrorists and they had to live over 20 years under pathetic conditions in coconut estates in Puttalam, Anuradhapura and Kurunegala districts.

The minister said he too was one of the refugees expelled from Mannar by the Tigers. Minister Bathiudeen said people expelled from the Northern Province have been able to return to their original habitats only after establishing lasting peace in the country by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. He pointed out that Muslim and Sinhala communities have lived amicably in peace and harmony for centuries and it is essential to strengthen the reconciliation efforts being carried out by the government. Speaking about espousing of communal hatred by extremist elements, the minister said these activities only harm the country and it strengthens the anti-Sri Lankan elements operating from overseas.

He requested extremist elements to cease activities and propaganda that lead to divisions among the communities. The minister said the Bodu Bala Sena Organisation recently alleged that he was settling Muslims in the Mannar district by clearing jungles and pointed out these were the people of this country, who lived in this country for centuries and not people from foreign countries ,who are being resettled ensuring their right to live in this country.

“The jungles had to be cleared because their original habitats have become covered with forests over the last 20 years,” he added.

Speaking about the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, the minister said at the initial stages of terrorism there were several terrorist organisations such as the LTTE, TELO, EPRLP and so on and the youth in the Northern and Eastern provinces at that time were blindly joining these organisations. He said it was to stop Muslim youth also getting lured by the false propaganda of these organisations that Minister Ashraff formed the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and the gang that hijacked this party following Ashraff’s death, resorted to espousing Communalism to garner votes on a communal basis at elections and they discard the Muslims after elections like curry leaves and obtain personal benefits by joining the government. The minister called upon the Muslims to reject these communal elements and strengthen the friendship with other communities and make every effort to live safeguarding unity in the country. (news.lk)

The Northern Majlisul Ulama (NMU), submitted a petition and pleaded with the Indian High Commission in Colombo, to ensure that Muslims are treated in a manner similar to the Tamils in the process of resettling the internally displaced persons.

It was alleged that 56% of the construction work on houses for the displaced Tamils had been completed, while the percentage of similar work completed for the displaced Muslims remained stagnant at 15%.

The funds allocated by the Indian Government, are reportedly disbursed through the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society.The NMU called at the Indian Mission and submitted the petition to the First Secretary of the Indian High Commission, Justin Mohan, yesterday. The petition cites the crisis faced by the Muslims in the resettlement process in the North. The Leader of NMU, Moulavi S.H. Thahir, explained, “We were severely displaced during the war and the Indian Government stepped into assist us. Initially, the Muslims and Hindus were treated alike, but thereafter, the houses of the Hindus were completed, but the houses allotted to the Muslims remained incomplete.”

He also said that when they had questioned the authorities concerned, they had responded by claiming that, there were insufficient funds to complete the project. Moulavi M.F.M. Farook, also elucidated that the project was to be conducted in three phases in Jaffna, Kilinochi, Vavuniya, Mannar and Puttalam, and only 15% of the work pertaining to the construction of the houses had been complete.

The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) must conduct itself appropriately if it wants to stay in the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Government, Deputy Minister of Investment Promotion, Faiszer Musthapha, said on Wednesday (12. He added that, nothing could distance or alienate the local and international Muslim community from Sri Lanka.

Referring to the report sent by the SLMC to the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, Musthapha said: “He has betrayed the nation, the people and politics. Here is a person, who while being in government, had helped other parties during elections and had done everything to skin the hide of the government, and had then come back without any shred of decency to claim a ministerial post. However, the redeemable fact and saving grace are that most of the persons in his Party and the representatives of the Party, who are in the Pradeshiya Sabhas, work for the welfare of the masses.”

Speaking further, he said: “The United National Party (UNP), whose stronghold was once Colombo, is now trying to distort the perception of the general public in Colombo as they now wallow in despair. Although they may try to orphan the public, the masses will not allow that to happen. We will win Colombo, resoundingly. We also implemented a new housing programme for over 80,000 households who were living under dire, impoverished circumstances, in squalor and without any dignity, in places that are derisively and derogatorily termed as ‘koreas’ and ‘somalias.'”

The Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) yesterday condemned the intervention of Western Province Governor, Alavi Mowlana, in an issue regarding racial segregation, which ensued at the Janadhipathi Balika Vidyalaya recently.The controversy surrounds the recent incident where two Muslim students had been asked to remove their hijab and long pants, which are generally worn in addition to the uniform to school. The students had also allegedly been requested to kneel down before the principal.

The BBS indicated that the school had been a predominantly Buddhist school with Buddhist culture advocated as part of their teachings and hence it had been unfair on the part of the Muslim students to be attired in a manner different to the uniform worn by the rest of the school. BBS Programme Coordinator, Dr. Dilanthe Withanage, said, “This is an ordinary issue which had beendealt in a proper manner. The school was functioning upon Buddhist norms and students must adhere to the uniform in the school. We condemn the actions of the Governor in making this a religious issue.”

He continued, “There are 30 Muslim students in the school. There is no reason to have Muslim students in a Buddhist school, if they cannot abide by the school’s rules in the first place. However, of the 30 students, only two had been reprimanded, which shows that there was no religious sentiment wrongly advocated.”

Coordinating Secretary to the Governor, Najib Mowlana, explaining what took place, said, “We have had discussions to resolve the dispute with Western Province Director of Education, N.K. Illeyapperuma, Coordinating Secretary for Education to the Governor, Premachandra, and Mayor of Kotte, Janaka Ranawaka, and there had been no problem thereafter.”
“The principal had informed us that she had no religious sentiment in her conduct; the maltreatment had merely been directed towards the two children. The other students have not had much problem remaining in the school, but the two students have requested to be transferred and we are still in the process of analyzing the request.”

The Coordinating Secretary to the Governor informed Ceylon Today that the Governor is hospitalized and thus unable to comment. However, negotiations in regard to the issue would continue following his recovery.